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Picente: Rome DMV Office Will Remain Open

Posted: October 10, 2011

Oneida County Executive Anthony J. Picente, Jr., joined by Chairman of the Board of Legislators Gerald J. Fiorini, Majority Leader David J. Wood, Minority Leader Patricia A. Hudak, Oneida County Clerk Sandra J. DePerno and Rome Mayor James Brown, announced today that the proposal to consider the Oneida County-operated Department of Motor Vehicles Office in Rome has been revised.

Oneida County Executive Picente said, “I’ve heard from numerous businesses and officials about the hardship that this would place on Rome and western portion of Oneida County. Listening to this, we have come up with a proposal to amount in the same savings which includes both a staff reduction as well as a reduction in the extended hours at both the Utica DMV and Rome DMV.”

“In a fiscal environment where the services counties are mandated to provide keep costing more and more money, and action to address these mandates is promised but never taken, we cannot provide services indefinitely without having the revenue to offset our costs,” Picente said. “The big picture requires Albany to act. My hope is that state action to address mandate reform and mandate relief will be taken. When we face the unending rise of mandates, and especially now that local flexibility is mitigated by the tax cap structure, we do not have extensive numbers of options. The county is already reducing its workforce, eliminating aid to non-county organizations and putting needed programs on the line. The biggest issue here is not the DMV office itself, but whether the Governor, Assembly and Senate in Albany will see the situation here in Rome, and all across the state, and realize that the lack of mandate reform and mandate relief is hurting the quality of life for the people. The problem isn’t the tax cap. I have always supported low taxes. The problem is that we need Albany to finish what they started and reduce mandates.”